If you grew up feeling responsible for other people’s emotions then you probably learnt early on that keeping the peace mattered more then expressing your needs. Your inner child will have learnt that keeping quiet and making sure others are ok meant safety. In adult relationships this might affect you through you becoming hyper aware of people’s emotions, or feeling anxious at expressing your own emotions and needs due to potential conflict. In schema therapy this often links to self sacrifice

Being the peace keeper often starts as a survival strategy. When conflict felt unsafe or overwhelming then your inner child learnt in order to keep peace, I need to smooth things over. I need to prevent conflict and keep things calm. Doing this often meant staying connected and in some cases even loved. In adult relationships this role can quietly turn into self abandonment and make your inner child even more vulnerable. You’re not too sensitive or weak this is a survival strategy from a previou